Suffering is a gift

Bible Reading (June 1)

• 1 Kings 22 – 2 Kings 1
• Proverbs 15
• 2 Corinthians 4

What Spiritual Gift is God giving me for my growth today, that I can share with others? (Rom 1:11)

God says that suffering is a gift, because it enables Jesus to be seen in us. “Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies” (2 Cor 4:10) Paul described his troubles in 2 Cor 4:8-18, but his perspective is his troubles are, “so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.” (2 Cor 4:12)

May this encourage us also to never give up. Our present troubles are small and momentary compared to the “glory they will produce.” “Fix your gaze, not on the troubles you can see now, but on the glory that is in store for you, the things we cannot see, but will last forever!

Deut 8:3 He humbled you and let you hunger… so that he could feed you with something you did not know (God provided not in the way they knew or expected), so that man will learn he does not live by bread alone.

What encouraged me in my faith? (Rom 1:12)

It would be pretty cool to have faith like Elijah did. In 2 Kings 1:10, 12 Ahab’s successor sent a delegation of 50 men to capture him and throw him in prison because of his prophecy that he would not recover. But, Elijah wasn’t worried. He simply responded to the messengers by stating, “If I am am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all” (2 Kings 1:10, 12)

We serve the God who flung the stars into space and knows. Nothing is too difficult for Him. We have nothing to fear because He is on our side!

What spiritual fruit does God want to work in me? What can I share with others that God can use to produce fruit among them also? (Rom 1:13)

In 1 Kings 1 Kings 22:19-24 there’s an interesting story of a prophet who thought he was speaking for God, but was actually being used to speak lies. It makes me ask myself, how can I be sure that when I am speaking, I am sharing what God wants, and not my own agenda. Like Peter, when Jesus said, “Get me behind me Satan,” (Mark 8:33) I know I can be in danger of what Jesus said, “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s”

I think Proverbs 15 gives some good insight to help us be sure we are speaking for God and not for ourselves.

• Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.
• Proverbs 15:14 A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.
• Proverbs 15:31-32 If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise. If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul warns us that Satan blinds the minds of those who don’t believe. But, when the light of the glory of God is shining in our hearts, the face of Jesus is what displays the glory of God, not us! 2 Cor 3:18 reminds us that the more we behold Him, the more we fill our lives with Him and get to know him (the knowledge of God 2 Peter 1:3), the more we will reflect His image. Paul reminds us that “We ourselves are fragile clay jars containing the great treasure of the light of the glory of God. Our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” (2 Cor 4:6-7)